Ask Augustin 45 - Dynamic range

It's been forever since the last Ask Augustin! This is actually an episode that I filmed 5-6 weeks ago, about dynamic range, but that I finally had time to cut together.
Dynamic range is what makes classical music exciting - there is a general trend in many other genres to compress dynamics, so everything is as loud as possible all the time. But in classical music, the contrasts are everything!
It's easiest to play at medium volume, but the really soft and really loud dynamics are trickier and require quite a lot of practice. Dynamics are created entirely by the bow, and it's essential to understand the parameters that control dynamics (as well as sound colors): the relationship between bow pressure, bow speed and contact point (how close to the bridge or to the fingerboard you play), as well as how angled the bow is.
It's important to remember that dynamics are perceived relative to the space you're playing in and to who else is playing at the same time, so this context ultimately decides how soft or loud a pianissimo or a fortissimo should be played in any given setting. Even if you prepare your dynamics a certain way in practice, and it sounds ideal in a space you know, when you arrive in a concert hall or play with a chamber group or a piano or an orchestra, you might need to play softer or louder than you prepared and thus have to change how you use your bow a lot! Many of these adjustments have to be done on the spot, but with experience it becomes easier to get a sense of a hall quickly, based on the resonance that comes back to you. You can always ask a friend to listen in the hall, or go listen yourself while the orchestra is rehearsing a different piece.
If you record anything, always disable any option that sets the audio volume automatically - whether it's a camera, or software like Zoom - because it will make your soft and loud sounds the same volume and thus make you sound worse. This is essential if you send audition tapes - with volume compression it might sound as though you ignored all the dynamic markings in the score and many nuances will be lost!

[@picksalot1]

I like that Augustin talks about technique in the context of musicality. He is right, as using "Compression" on acoustic instruments usually sucks all the life out of a performance. Thanks

[@tmshadow8031]

You have such a nice and relaxing talking voice.

[@wendyshell8679]

I never feel intimidated by his voice, which helps me absorb what he’s teaching! What a help compared to a military father!😳❤️

[@Dna4christ]

Oh my goodness! You addressed my specific problem about playing dynamics over virtual!! Thank you! Exactly what I'm having an issue with currently.

[@gracesviolin]

Thank you for these educational videos. Hearing from you talk about technique is so helpful. Thank you!! ☺️

[@wendyshell8679]

Thanks for returning to us with another great lesson. Your descriptions are very thorough, which for a detail person like myself, is very helpful. Good seeing you post here, again. Miss you & take care!❤️

[@silascolombara8397]

The tip about recording an audition is so helpful! I have a big one in a couple weeks. Thank you maestro!

[@powerofalto]

Absolutely fascinating! This is all information I know, on some level, but hearing it articulated by someone with so much experience in all sorts of solo playing/performing settings brings greater depth and clarity to the topic. Your demonstration of the Dvorak was particularly compelling, Augustin. That particular moment in the 2nd movement drives me nuts, with the winds (esp. the flutes) covering the poor soloist. It’s so good to have you back on KZbin! Thanks for another wonderful “Ask Augustin.” :)

[@zhangbenyuan7249]

Definitely love the insight you provide, you’re my idol! I have a question, how do you practice double stops? Thanks!

[@XCurvyBarbieX]

I know you asked him sorry to jump and answer lol I hope he replies too would love to see his insight. I have always practiced and recommend practicing them separate first, then you can link the two double stops with the bow. Also when you play them separate you can also still use your fingers on both strings as if playing double stops but you play one string at a time only .. I hope that makes sense lol Open strings help so much if you double check with the open string always when you can even if they are different intervals you will be able to hear the tuning better and last but not least rhythms practicing rhythms on anything will make it better. Also there are so many studies and books out there to help with double stops so let me know if you need a few names :)

[@XCurvyBarbieX]

@@CodyConley glad it helps :) also playing one of the double stops alone then connecting it to the other and then playing them together helps me a lot too 😀

[@finemasterviolins]

Wonderful tutorial 👏👏👏👏👏amazing playing as always...great sounding Guarneri 😄

[@katarinaenright5404]

Hi Augustin. I know you're out doing concerts at the moment so I'm guessing these ask Augustins aren't going to be as frequent. If you are planning to continue the series would you perhaps consider covering double stops? Also I really liked your Bach.

[@Mal-sg2du]

This is exactly what I need! Dynamics is really hard to control. Thank you for this specific explanation! ✨🙏

[@whoami8434]

Breaking things down into distinct variables like that is incredibly helpful.

[@alexsaldarriaga8318]

Great to see you back! You're a wonderful artist-teacher. I'm still hoping that you will come and play the Paganini Concerto #1 with The Florida Orchestra someday. I still have my tickets! Thank you for sharing your considerable insights and pedagogical wisdom.

[@lolamas3042]

Cuanto tiempo sin disfrutar de una nueva clase! Aunque las 44 anteriores hay que seguir y seguir y seguir repasándolas para no olvidar tan buenos consejos! Mil gracias, como siempre! Ahora toca seguir estudiando! 👏👏👏👏👏😊💜🎶💜🎻

[@josephjames1432]

Thanks so much! You are so inspiring and I love your tutorials!

[@TwoSetPlaylists]

Thank you, great tips as always! I wonder if anyone has tried to visualize the 4 parameters of dynamics/sound by plotting bow speed, bow weight and contact point into a 3-dimensional coordinate system with the size or color of the plotted dot according to the bow tilt. But I guess these parameters would be difficult to measure with sensors without interfering with the playing.

[@TwoSetPlaylists]

Some part of this space should sound great, but there will also be the scratchy area, the breathy area etc.

[@eowawrzkiewicz]

It's actually been done! It was done 10 years ago and it's somewhere obscure on the Internet! It was mentioned in the Strad magazine

[@Missingo32]

It's fantastic to have a video where he actually demonstrates how a dynamic can be relative and both refer to tone in addition to volume (particularly as a soloist), and how to achieve that, and how relative it is. Even in large, dull halls, it's good to note that context, especially when you need to project as a soloist. It's important to have the capability to treat those dynamics as a description of texture as much as a description of volume. You still need to be heard, but that emotional contrast in the texture of your sound can be extremely potent as well, and is sometimes necessary, even while keeping up your volume.

[@ViolinViolaMasterclass]

Thank you so much💕🎻 my students and I have been exploring this subject in our warm ups over the last month…we all love your videos so much-listened to your Dvorak “Songs My Mother Taught Me” the other day (as we are learning that one this week)…we will watch this at our next group class!!🤩🎵🙏💻🎻❤️📚

[@ViolinHobby]

Wow! Thank you so much Maestro Augustin! I really needed this lesson from you, since I lack dynamic range...

[@nathanieleskelson9280]

Thank you so much! This helped me take my playing to the next level!

[@Nonkel_Jef]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Even though you're way out of my league, this is still very interesting for beginners.

[@koopalovetoast2409]

You look absolutely fire with long hair, not so much with this cut, but with long hair you look amazing

[@jimmyjohnson2592]

Beautiful music. You are an inspiration to all who have additional challenges to overcome in their lives.

[@arvindiyer1649]

Its seems like eternity since you uploaded. But its just been 3 weeks......

[@josephdickson673]

Nice new hair cut, :)

[@JustFiddler]

😀

[@arubian06]

Thank you maestro,🙏🏼🙇🏻‍♂️,your tips are golden.

[@MrUswestshing]

He is definitely the best violinist now🎉

[@nickele]

Thank you for this episode. I'm having quite some trouble with playing soft and bow control (I guess I'll have to accept that this is a time where gravity isn't always my friend...), so these are great impulses for practice. Thinking about projection and the relativity of volume is also really helpful!

[@angelinarogatch2933]

Thank you! That was super helpful:)

[@professorV]

I love your insights. Thank you for sharing.

[@stefansack9107]

You are one of the best

[@galnyska]

Thank you so much for your generosity dear Augustin! I have a question- do you or did you ever work on expanding your dynamic range with certain basic exercises (like long tones with dynamics), or did you always just use the specific piece of music as the "excuse" to develop the range and feel physically and mentally comfortable playing across all of it? 🙏

[@yuanwei9450]

Thank you for your invaluable knowledge! Nice haircut! Great smile!

[@johnalexander301]

Excellent. Thank you Augustin.

[@edsoncavalcanti4033]

Amazing congratulations.

[@diegeigergarnele7975]

Hello maestro could you please make a video about your usual warmups for both bow and left hand (or maybe which one they were when you were younger and practicing to get to this level)? I think a lot of people would love to see it

[@philipq6906]

There is so much wisdom in one video

[@r22jeff]

Thank you Augustin and Happy Halloween from New York.

[@HenJack-vl5cb]

Wonderful video-Thank you!!!!!!

[@jad19851]

Thanks Augustin. Great info here.

[@TwiZoneInc]

5:15 the Ysaye sonatas are 'muy dificil'!!! They require a lot of bow technique in addition to left-hand technique!

[@Maxi.Ledesma.musica]

Really helpful, i'm not clasically trained and this is new for me, although I kind of noticed it haha. Thanks! 🎉🎊

[@JustFiddler]

matur suksma , video ini sangat bermanfaat

[@dovbrodkin4497]

Can you do an Ask Augustin on playing scales and or practicing?

[@louiseannedicentakerbec7335]

I am still fin donc my notes but thank you....legs hope i get there...!💜

[@leopoldauer7390]

Maestro Zibulkin said that I should only play forte. He yelled "FORTE!" while hitting me on my head with a carbon fibre bow..

[@newsing8468]

9:41 I think you can fix that problem in zoom by turning on normal voice or something like that.

[@mattbuchner]

Is that available in all zoom models? Which one would you recommend?

[@SarahChan]

Thanks for these Ask Augustin videos! How do you decide what topics to cover? May I also ask a question? 😅 I have a question about improving left hand clarity in fast passages. Ascending passages always sound "marshmallowy" rather than clear for me. I get better clarity on descending passages because I play almost with a tiny bit of LH pizz. But this doesn't work on ascending. I have no idea how to improve or if it is just a skill you're born with 😂. Any help? Thanks❤️❤️

[@aviationdaniel3703]

Very nice!

[@hjc5523]

Oh thank you, now his idol has explained this, my 8-yr old will be more willing to experiment different sounds. I just hope he actually listens to the sound ~ often now he varies his dynamic by changing tempo (I don’t even know why) - tempo faster at crescendo and slower at pp, so frustrating......

[@giocosovelasco]

First haha! Love your vids and music Augustin!

[@vinsenanda]

Like this topic... 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@elenasavina7117]

Thank 🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

[@lucasavilaviolinista]

Thanks!!!

[@CombaatArms]

May I ask you Augustin, what mic do you use for your covers?

[@carlacooper4111]

Check out his Ask Augustin #42. :)

[@annamyshkina81]

Спасибо, Августин! С приветом из России ✺◟( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)◞✺

[@sofiasevilla74]

One day, I'll be able to play like you- If I practice

[@user-rf2so3mx5s]

Can you show me the video of changing the position of the left hand down?

[@alexeyrojaspeskov438]

I like that part about the sound getting nasty

[@oldgoat5]

Hi Augustin, what microphone do you use in these videos?

[@RaquelAranha]

maravilhoso :)

[@embvl1380]

How to play soft when the violin has a bad response of the strings?

[@laurettafetta]

What strings do you use, Augustin?

[@Poreckylife]

Evah parazzi

[@damoonchaghomy]

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹👌❤️👌🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@_._astaroth__6861]

Oe lo medio labio

[@oscartiong6649]

Changing the position of the bow to help change volume? Whoah, I’ve never heard of those hacks before

[@stefansack9107]

Your Tipp with your pad on the shoulder great perhaps You remember LG Stefan Violine Viola Germany Professionelle Konzerte und Unterricht